Integrating Gadgets in the Home

With the growing number of tablets, smartphones, automated robot vacuum cleaners and more, the 21st century is shaping up to be nothing if not the Age of Integration. Advances in the range and abilities of microchips and processors have allowed for greater control and convenience in almost all aspects of your home.

There are applications on your cell phone that allow you to turn the lights on in your home as you pull up in the driveway, as well as monitor motion detector-enabled video cameras on your phone –all while eating at a restaurant miles away.

Gadgets for Increased Convenience

The increasing use of infrared technology in mobile devices allows them to accomplish various in-house conveniences. You can set up a multimedia control station that gives you complete control over devices as varied as your HDTV, DVD player, cable box, satellite dish and CD player separately. Simply programming a response into the control station –which is usually about the size of a small console or large remote control centralizes your multiple devices and reduces the need for remote controls everywhere. If you have an Android device or Apple device, you can access applications that control the lighting in your home, changing the ambiance to suit certain moods or times of the evening. There are apps for thermostat control and even real-time monitoring of motion detectors. If there’s a sudden, unexpected water leak, you can receive an instant text message on your mobile device.

Apps for Entertainment

For a relaxing evening of music at home –or the guest-filled option of partying –you can use Android or Apple applications for the Sonos Wireless Wi-Fi system to fill each room with ambient music. It is truly a multitasking app, with the ability to scan through your playlists and create new ones to fit the mood. It’s compatible with tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktop computers, requiring only a router and a few simple steps to set up. With the touch of a few buttons or a swipe of the screen, you can turn your home into a virtual rock concert –with a variable of songs playing every room where there’s a subwoofer.

Surveillance for Home Protection

With a provider like Comcast, you have access to central security stations that provide round-the-clock surveillance for your home, triggered by motion detectors and automatic backup of data –even in the event of a power failure. In the event you forget to arm the XFINITY home security system before you leave the house, simply use your mobile device to correct that oversight from afar. Since internet connectivity is virtually ubiquitous these days, the indoor and outdoor cameras can give you live feed at your request over a cellular network.

Apps for Child Entertainment

This is virtually a market all by itself. There are so many educational and fun applications for children that you may have a difficult time choosing which one to set up day-after-day. The Apple Store and Google Play have top 50 picks for kids and more, as compiled by leading educators on constructive entertainment, and thousands of parents with reviews on tried-and-true ways to keep your children engrossed for hours at a time. In the new age of the mobile device and applications running on various platforms, education and entertainment have never been so accessible.